LESS than two years after being blown up in Afghanistan, Corporal Tom Neathway dreams of being reunited with his colleagues on the frontline.

Cpl Neathway, 26, of 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment, lost both legs and his left arm when an improvised explosive device hidden under a sandbag went off while he was on patrol in Kajaki, northern Helmand Province, in July 2008.

His injuries were so horrific he was not expected to live – but since undergoing life-saving surgery he has made a remarkable recovery.

And this is no ordinary soldier.

Today, Cpl Neathway works as an administrator at RAF Brize Norton, and spends a lot of his time visiting injured soldiers at the Army hospital where he was treated in Selly Oak, Birmingham.

Remarkably, he is not bitter about what happened – and remains fully focused on getting back on active duty.

Cpl Neathway, who was set to go on an SAS selection course before the incident, said: “I can’t feel sorry for myself — I have got a good life, got a good-looking girlfriend, I have a job and drive my own car — everything is how it should be.

“There are guys who are a lot worse off than me.

“I would love to return to the frontline and the option is pretty much there for me if I want to, but at the moment there is a more worthwhile job for me visiting the injured troops that come back and aiding their recovery in any way I can.”

Cpl Neathway, who joined the Parachute Regiment when he was 17, described the moment he was blown up as like “being hit by a hard rugby tackle”.

He had his arm amputated at Camp Bastion before being flown back to the UK where his legs were removed above the knee at Selly Oak Hospital.

He spent four weeks in intensive care and a further four weeks in a specialist burns and plastic surgery unit.

But just four months after the incident, he managed to walk unaided to collect his Afghanistan campaign medal from Prince Charles .

Cpl Neathway said: “I was on sniper cover. We moved into a compound and I initiated a booby-trapped device by lifting a sandbag.

“Straight away I lost both my feet. I still had my left arm, but it was badly damaged.

“I knew what it felt like to be blown up — twice before I had been in vehicles but had escaped with no injuries.

“On the day I was blown up on the ground I instantly knew I had sustained a bad injury.”

Steve Radband, 47, of Bampton, whose son David serves in the Parachute Regiment and is good friends with Cpl Neathway, said: “Tom is a remarkable young man.

“The courage he has shown is incredible and his mentality is a lesson to us all.”

Cpl Neathway, who has two prosthetic legs and specially-made limbs for running, said: “There are guys who come back from Afghanistan really messed up with bad head injuries, but with me I have got replacement limbs – I am very lucky.

“I have no regrets about going out to Afghanistan.

“Because I have been through the whole process I can help other injured soldiers. I show them what can be achieved, and just pass on my experience.”

He has completed several tandem sky dives, is planning a skiing holiday in March and drives an adapted Porsche Carrera.

Cpl Neathway said: “There is no stopping me now that I have adapted around my injuries. I still do all the stuff I did before – just a little bit differently.”